We met up with the incomparable Kish Richards to explore more of the beautiful island of Dominica. First, we joined Holiday for lunch at Kish’s place. When I asked what was in the thick spicy soup she made us, Kish gave us a sly grin and said “meat” and made a scrambling running gesture with her fingers. Hmmm…Later, she showed us a picture of the critter called an agouti which flavored our lunch – maybe something like a big tail-less rat?

We set out on a full day tour of the southern part of Dominica with Kish and a van full of other sailors. As we drove, Kish told us about the dramatic effects Hurricane Maria had on Dominica back in 2017 and how the island’s economy has not yet recovered. Kish herself had a great job in security at the huge American medical school in Portsmouth before the hurricane hit and the school left the island for good, leaving a ghost town of empty buildings behind to be slowly reclaimed by jungle.

Our first stop was a short hike to Trafalgar Falls. Oh my gosh! If I thought the Bwa Nef waterfall was beautiful, this set of twin waterfalls blows it away in terms of beauty. We visited on a rainy day so the falls were simply raging. Not safe to get too close or to go for a swim, but we just soaked up the beauty.

After a coffee break, we sought out our next Dominican waterfall. This time, instead of an easy paved trail, we earned our views with a steep and slippery scramble. Middleham Falls is huge! I couldn’t even capture its full height in a single frame on my camera. Supposedly, you can swim there on lower flow days, but we didn’t have to swim to get completely soaked from the spray on the viewing platform. Thus the theme of the day was established – we were going to be wet!!! All..day..long.

Did I mention we were going to get wet? Our next stop kind of took me by surprise. Kish told us we were going to visit Titou Gorge and I envisioned another scenic nature hike up a scenic river bed. Not exactly. We we told to change into our swimsuits and pay 5ec to rent a life vest. Next thing you know, we were even told to kick off our water sandals and to jump one at a time into a pool of very cold water. After a few steps, the stream was too deep to touch bottom, and the line of us doggy paddled our way upstream. The gorge immediately narrowed to only a couple meters wide, and we craned our necks to look up at the undulating sone walls covered with moss and dripping ferns with a rim high above our heads. Again, because of all the rain, the force of the water was too strong for me to make it all the way upstream to the small waterfall, but Capt. Mike fought through it for the best view. Once he gave up on his grip of the rocky wall, the stream spun him around and spit him back out downstream like a water slide.

The thrilling conclusion of our island tour was a snorkel at Champagne Reef. Remember those seven volcanos? The geothermal activity at this point on the island manifests as a steady streams of bubbles making their way through the porous material of the coral reef. We swam along the reef in snorkel masks and fins, drifting through the streams of bubbles, catching the bubbles with our fingers. Colorful reef fish nibble at the coral and at the bubbles. I was surprised to find that I could hear the bubbles popping and fizzing. So peaceful, and a unique experience!

After a sunset rum punch on Champagne Beach and a fresh fish dinner at Sunset Bay Club, Kish dropped us off at the dinghy dock long after dark. We tumbled out of the van with armfuls of soggy clothing and dinghied back to our boats to rest up and dream of our next Dominican adventure.